Chapter 71 Sensing Presence - from my book Changes

Sensing Presence (wet felted wool artwork)

Chapter 71

Sensing Presence

Sensing Presence is a tool I learned at Trackerschool.  Sensing Presence is one of those things you have to experience to understand fully.  I can describe how to practice Sensing Presence and you will think you get it, but you won’t feel it until you try it yourself with a partner.

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Here is the exercise:  Step one:  You and your partner (someone you are practicing this skill with) go out away from other people where there is no interference from other people’s energy or man made objects.  Partner 1 and Partner 2 move away from each other a little ways, maybe 20 to 30 feet.  Partner 1 faces away from partner 2.  Partner 2 begins to stalk (sneak up on) partner 1, not thinking of anything in particular, just walking as quietly as possible, being as silent as can be.  While their back is turned to partner 2, partner 1 is tries to sense the presence of partner 2 while partner 2 is stalking partner 1.  When Partner 1 feels the presence of partner 2, for the first time, partner 1 raises their hand but does not turn around.

Partner 2 continues to stalk partner 1 to try to touch partner 1 on the shoulder when close enough.  Partner 1 waits and when partner 1 senses the presence of partner 2 within arms length (striking distance) behind them, partner 1 raises their hand and turns around, to see where partner 2 is.

The two partners discuss how it went.  Where did partner 1 sense the presence of partner 2 for the first time; how far away was partner 2?  Where was partner 2 when partner 1 sensed that partner 2 was within striking distance?

Next, the partners switch places and partner 1 stalks partner 2 while partner 2 practices sensing presence in the same way partner 1 did it the first go around.

Step one of this exercise ought to be practiced at least twice by each partner before the next step.

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Step 2:  Partner 1 and 2 are in the same place, and position themselves in the same way, as when practicing step 1 of this exercise.  The difference in step two is that the partner stalking the other partner is doing so with the intent to harm the partner they are stalking.

Of course, the partner stalking the other is not really going to hurt the partner with their back turned, but the partner stalking up must generate the feeling as if they are intending to hurt the waiting partner.  The intent to hurt must be felt in this second step.  It must feel real.

Practice step 2 of this exercise twice each and discuss the differences between when the staling partner was not thinking of anything and when they were stalking with the intent to harm.

As this second step of the exercise is practiced, you will notice how much sooner the presence of the stalking partner will be sensed.  The distance the presence is sensed will be much further out than in step one.

This is because the ability to sense the presence of another is affected by the intent of the one being sensed.  That is why we can sense danger sooner than something benign.

Practicing this skill can open doors to many applications.  For example: Can I hide my presence from others when needed?  Can I make my presence known early on?  Can I project my presence?  Can I throw my presence to a different place?  Can I change the feeling my presence carries?  Can I sense the feeling another person’s presence carries?  Can I know who the other person is simply by sensing their presence?

Tom told us that he and his best friend Rick used to get out of school as fast as they could so they could stand outside the school doors a ways, and try to tell who was coming through the door to the outside by sensing their presence.